With a strong likelihood of an LTTE counter-offensive in the horizon, the Sri Lanka Army recently upgraded its electronic warfare capabilities with the latest Electronic Weapons Locating Radar systems available in the market.
This crucial upgrade is an important one considering that the casualties during the most recent LTTE attacks were caused by trajectory weapons, i.e. Howitzers, Mortar Bombs and Multiple-Rocket Launchers.
The Army has taken steps to establish special units in Jaffna and at other crucial locations in the Vanni equipped with these systems procured from a friendly Asian country. The radar system, developed and maintained by that country is said to be equal in its abilities to the AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder Radar systems developed by the United States (Raytheon), but less expensive.
The Indian government, in May 2008, procured 12 AN/TPQ-37 Radars denied to them for many years by the United States. Other than Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan are the only other countries to test the weapon in real combat in the recent past.
After open hostilities and border wars ended between India and Pakistan, the Sri Lanka Army and the guerrillas are the only two adversaries continuously engaged in a continuous war that uses trajectory weapons.
